Welding
Some projects will require welds. This could include picking weld types, doing calculations proving the welds will work, or doing weld call-outs on SolidWorks drawings. If you aren't sure where to start, here's a few tips. Figure out the types of welds you need This will involve a little bit of research and communication with your client. They might want to give you the types of welds, or they might want you to struggle and figure it out for yourself (like our client did). It's a good idea to learn the nomenclature a little before starting a conversation to avoid being overwhelmed with terms. There are a bunch of different types of welds, and it's important that you use the correct ones. I doubt your client will want anything super complicated, but there are a few basic welds that every engineer might want to know. The figure to the right will give you an idea as to how welds are decided. Typically you look for the basic geometry of how your two metals will be locked in place. If you have questions, ask your client for some guidance, but provide a couple of options you have researched and think are the right ones. This way they know you are dedicating time and effort, and not just looking for a free answer. Perform welding calculations Once you confirm with your client that you have chosen the correct welds, it's probably about time to do calculations. Now your client might have provided a standard (as ours did) for welding. If they didn't, there are a few helpful references you could use. -Design of Welded Structures, by Omer W. Blodgett -Design of Weldments, by Omer W. Blodgett -AWS D1.1 Welding Standard (can be found in pdf online, just make sure its a recent version) -AISC Steel Construction Manual (our client gave us a copy to borrow, I believe it is also online) If you need to learn more about welds, fixtures, or complex joints, I would suggest the first two books. If you are just needing some quick calculations and standards, I would suggest AISC. We used AISC for our project, and once you get the hang of it, it is quite easy to use. Just follow these steps: # Go skip on down to chapter J in the AISC Steel Construction Manual (this chapter is also good for bolting connections) # You can do some SUPER FUN reading in there to make sure you are following the correct standards. You will find that this book references AWS D1.1, so it's probably going to be easier to use. # Find your minimum effective weld size (referring to throat of weld), you will determine this from tables J2.1 (not too helpful), J2.2 (flare bevel and flare v groove welds), J2.3 (for partial-joint-penetration groove welds), or J2.4 (fillet welds). Nearly every time you are welding right angles to each other, you want to use fillet welds. If you are using Hollow Square Section (HSS tube), you will probably be looking at flare bevel welds depending on the joint type. '''Note: '''while these minimal weld sizes are standard, if you find that your calculations give you a crazy design ratio, consider making it smaller and or shorter. There is a caveat in there, stating that it is OK to use smaller weld size than the 'minimum' as long as your calculations prove it to be safe. # Next you will use table J2.5 combined with equations J2-2, and J2-3, to do the calculations (assuming your welds follow the criteria of those equations). Our client did not want us sharing any of the work we did, so I would suggest asking your client for sample welding calculations so you can better understand calculating design ratio and allowable strength vs design strength. I also found some good samples online. Learn how to do weld call-outs on drawings Weld call-outs are important things to understand while creating drawings, and SolidWorks makes it easy once you understand symbols and formatting. I would suggest researching weld call-outs, as there is way too much for me to include on here. This site will give you a good understanding of weld call-outs: https://weldguru.com/welding-symbol/ Hope this helped! Welding engineering is not easy, which is why it's a standalone college major. You will, however, use it multiple times in your engineering career. So it's a good thing to learn early in life. Good luck on your project! Tips: if you're having a hard time dealing with welding. Go talk with Dave ( our TA). He can help you to look up your design and show you what's wrong with it. He's super good at this. He know what is the best for your design. Remember when ever you drop by his office or asking anything, bring the standard code book with you or may be ask him at first if he can bring for you the newest version of the standard code book so he can show you which equation or which page you need to look up.